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Putin to sign law banning Russian adoptions by Americans

President Vladimir V. Putin said Thursday that he would sign into a law a ban on adoptions of Russian children by American citizens, retaliating against an American law that punishes Russians accused of violating human rights and dealing a potentially grave setback to bilateral relations…

Pavel Astakhov, Russia’s child rights commissioner and a major proponent of the ban, told news agencies on Wednesday that he expected it to be enacted and to immediately block the departure of 46 children ready to be adopted by parents from the United States. He said the adoptions would be blocked regardless of previous agreements with the United States and even though some of the adoptions had already received court approval, and he expressed no regrets over the likely emotional turmoil for the families involved.

“The children who have been chosen by foreign American parents — we know of 46 children who were seen, whose paperwork was processed, who came in the sights of American agencies,” Mr. Astakhov said in his statement. “They will not be able to go to America, to those who wanted to see them as their adopted children. There is no need to go out and make a tragedy out of it.”

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Public School and SPED Departments sighs big sigh of relief. The number of foreign adoptees needing special ed services is up there. Most of those Russian orphans had chain smokers and alcoholics as sperm and egg donors.

We’re $17 Trillion in debt here and our own Democracy is about to go under. Sooo … remind me why the death of Sergei Magnitsky should be our concern?

The law prevents a number of Russians from traveling to the United States. Mind you – NONE of these people have been convicted in any court of law but our busy body lawmakers just want to ban them from entering anyway.

This stupid assed law is the same thing as Kuala Lumpur convicting G.W. Bush of “war crimes” in abstentia.

I don’t care about Sergei Magnitsky – or anything else that goes on or goes wrong in Russia. I care about here and I’d submit that people need to focus their attentions on OUR OWN more pressing problems.

Many would rather adopt overseas than here in the US. Less risk of the mom coming back for the child later.

WisCon on December 27, 2012 at 1:27 PM

Most families who opt for a foreign adoption do so because foreign adoptions are generally much cheaper and the wait time is much shorter. If there were more babies born and put up for adoption in the U.S., the benefits of foreign adoption would be nullified. I think that most American parents would much rather adopt a child born in the U.S. – but cost and time are important factors.

My little sister was adopted from Russia (many years ago). She was almost certainly destined for a life of destitution and poverty. Why would Putin try to reduce the number of human drains on his economy? It makes no sense. It would be like Mexico actually caring about the waves of illegal emigrants it deals with.

I believe Canada and the EU imposed variations of the similar stuff. Those involved with Magnitsky’s death total to about all of 60 people by the way. It was pointless legislation designed to show outrage at a human rights abuse.

Now, I’m not one to defend Putin, and I’ll readily step forward to say that political freedom in Russia is on a steep and sad decline from its still-mediocre high-water mark during the Yeltsin years. What was done to Sergei Magnitsky was a shameful abuse of power, and the perpetrators should be punished. That said, legislating human rights in another sovereign nation is always a fool’s errand. Unless the US, Canada, and EU were prepared to go to war and impose “regime change” due to the human rights abuses of Putin’s government, they should have been prepared instead for Putin to laugh in all of their faces. He has particularly little respect for Obama, as he’s shown in the past, and one can hardly even blame him there. Obama wants to play games like this, Putin will play back, harder and for keeps. 60 men now can’t travel or do business in the USA, Canada, or EU… In return hundreds, maybe thousands of children get to enjoy life in the Russian orphanage system rather than have a chance at living with a family in the USA. Well done all around, jackwagons.

Thing is, the possibility of antagonizing Russia shouldn’t be a detriment to US policy. In that regard Obama was right just as were his predecessors from Reagan forward. (Carter tried to play nice and embarrassed himself as usual.) Thing is, when GWB poked at Putin, it was in defense of our new friends and allies in Eastern Europe. Barky meanwhile plays tough with Putin over minor affairs, but couldn’t care about Poland, Ukraine, et al… there Putin is given plenty of “flexibility.”

Most families who opt for a foreign adoption do so because foreign adoptions are generally much cheaper and the wait time is much shorter. If there were more babies born and put up for adoption in the U.S., the benefits of foreign adoption would be nullified. I think that most American parents would much rather adopt a child born in the U.S. – but cost and time are important factors.

Pork-Chop on December 27, 2012 at 1:44 PM

Cost is one factor, but don’t underestimate the fear that the birth mother or biological father will later file suit to reclaim the child. I’ve read numerous stories of adoptive parents losing custody rights to biological parents years after the adoption was completed.

Many would rather adopt overseas than here in the US. Less risk of the mom coming back for the child later.

WisCon on December 27, 2012 at 1:27 PM

Not usually. Usually they fear the birth mother changing her mind and deciding to parent after the birth of the baby.

Most families who opt for a foreign adoption do so because foreign adoptions are generally much cheaper and the wait time is much shorter. If there were more babies born and put up for adoption in the U.S., the benefits of foreign adoption would be nullified. I think that most American parents would much rather adopt a child born in the U.S. – but cost and time are important factors.

Pork-Chop on December 27, 2012 at 1:44 PM

Foreign adoptions are not necessarily cheaper. They can be much more expensive, due to travel costs and “greasing palms.” They definitely can take place in a much more timely manner, though.